Chapter 351: Mimi XXXVII—Is it Possible?

Michele felt so aggravated and confused after coming home from the mall that she merely dropped the shopping bags in the hall and went straight to the kitchen cabinets, emptied them and began to clean the shelves. Of course Modano would never have hurt Mitchell, she realized this, he wouldn’t risk everything he had and could achieve would he? But Michele just didn’t trust the man, and well, she could tell he wasn’t entirely sane and what the hell was he doing with the boy anyway? If it was so innocent then he would have just handed the kid over to her without all this fuss of “I found him first!”

Michele sighed. Well, as long as it was over. And it was. The Sakic’s seemed fine and Mitchell seemed no worse for the wear. She glanced at the kitchen clock, still an hour before she needed to pick up the children from school. Maybe she should tell Patrick to do it? She’d seen his car in the driveway and if he hadn’t greeted her by now, then he was just taking a nap. Lazy bastard! She didn’t know anyone, old man, hockey player, or infant that slept more than him.

She yawned, her shoulders burned from scrubbing, and then she thought of the hockey practice she and the wives would have the day after tomorrow. That damn game had come upon them; she had been amused to hear that it had nearly sold out at the Magness Arena. More than a few fans then, were interested in seeing hockey wives and girlfriends haplessly skating against their paramours. To tell the truth, Michele couldn’t recall exactly which charity the proceeds from the game would be going to, that was Debbie’s job. Well as long as someone benefited from this sure madness.

She hopped off the kitchen countertop and cringed, she’d landed hard on the tile floor and her knees smarted from the extended time on them as she cleaned the shelves. They glared at her, angry and red and she rolled her eyes. Aging didn’t matter if she didn’t think about it.

Gigi exploded with barks and dashed to the front door when the bell rang. Michele yawned and sauntered to the door and then her eyes widened when she saw Danny through the peephole. Christ! She glanced at the kitchen gloves she wore and the smattered apron and frowned. With the way Gigi carried on Michele didn’t have time to change into something else so she just muttered a curse and opened the door. Put on the best smile girl and it will be…. “Hello, Daniel, look at you, I give you a nibble and hear you are back at the door. What do you need my love?”

But Daniel didn’t smile. His face had that black overcast gloom that only a woman could be responsible for. “She’s killing me, Mimi!”

Well, her loss, Michele thought. “Oh so sad Daniel, come in, tell me what’s wrong. Forgive my appearance I was just scrubbing the shelves…”

“It’s OK,” Dan muttered as he plodded into the house. His shoulders were shrugged and his hands shoved into his coat pockets. Michele decided against trying to take his coat and she watched him trudge into the kitchen. He sat heavily into a chair and slumped, looking at the floor.

Michele crossed her arms and leaned in the doorway. “What has happened now?”

Dan frowned. “She keeps pushing me away sometimes it’s driving me nuts!”

Michele lifted an eyebrow. “How so?”

“Well see I call her today, just to tell her a quick I love you, I mean I didn’t want to take up any of her time because I know she’s working but…” He sighed and looked at her with those dewy liquid eyes, Michele felt her skin dampen and her tongue moisten. “Well I call her and the first thing is ‘Danny you’re not supposed to be calling me’ and I told her that I know that but I just wanted to tell her and she just hung up before I could finish! She hung up on me!”

Oh what a bitch, Michele thought with an inward smirk. “And then what happened?”

“I called her back!” Dan said, “I mean it’s not nice to just hang up on someone and when she answered and heard it was me she hissed that I was unforgivable and hung up again! She didn’t give me time for anything, alls I wanted to do was tell her I love her and she hangs up on me twice! I know I’m not supposed to be calling her but doesn’t she have a frickin sense of adventure? Couldn’t she spare just one second? One goddamn second? Or am I just not that important to her anymore, now that she has that ring on her finger does she think that she can just do anything she wants and I have to forgive her?”

Michele forced her mouth the stay straight, she so badly wanted to lift just the left corner of it up. “Most women think that way when they are engaged, Daniel. They feel so confident that the man they are engaged to becomes a little helpless and forgotten, it will get worse when she starts planning the wedding, I assure you.”

Dan gulped and the snapping fire left his eyes, the angry puppy fire, “Really?”

“Mmhmm,” Michele grinned. “It is what women do, and Debbie and the rest have us have been discussing, since Cecile seems cut away from her family we will be glad to help her out with the wedding. You will be one miserable puppy.”

“Aw Christ,” Dan moaned and he put his face in his hands, leaning on the kitchen table. “Don’t tell me that.”

Michele giggled. “Are you having second thoughts Daniel? After all you’ve been through?”

“God no!” Danny exclaimed and he looked at her as if he’d been poked with fiery needle. “Never! I adore her like I said though, she just drives me NUTS! And how do I even know she cares about me as much as she did? I mean argh why can’t she just give as much as she gets from me?” He groaned and put his face back into his hands. “And I’d give her even more in a heartbeat, she owns me, Mimi!”

“Oh you will have her in your arms this weekend,” Michele said airily and she went to the chair next to him, sat in it and turned to face him. “You will feel better then.”

Dan peeked at her through his fingers. A cute little face and gaze, Michele actually felt her heart ache. “Hey I got that poem done.”

Michele wanted to point and laugh! She would have him leaping through fiery hoops soon. “Oh how wonderful, Daniel, see and she will love…”

“Want to hear it?”

Michele felt a little off guard because the expression on his face seemed suddenly hardened, almost jaded as he pulled the folded paper out of his pocket. “Well of course.” She said in a quiet voice and she folded her hands in her lap.

“I’ve been thinking about Cecile,” Dan said. “And she has everything, it was so hard to write for her because I couldn’t think of what to say to her that I haven’t already, or given to her. She has everything from me, she really does. And she’ll have more, and I don’t see how she’ll ever want or need anything as long as she lives. Really!”

Dan’s eyes seemed wild for a moment, almost a little desperate, a man overwhelmed. Michele felt sobered, just a little. “She’s very lucky, Daniel.”

“And then you…” Dan said and then he stopped.

“Me?”

Dan shook his head and picked up the paper. “Okay this…. Well don’t laugh… Aw Christ laugh if you want, in fact I deserve to be laughed at…”

“Just read it, Daniel,” Michele said kindly suddenly feeling a wash of pity for him. “You’ll feel better when it’s done.”

“I don’t think I will,” Dan said mournfully. “And this will be your fault cause you set me to this.”

Michele lifted her eyebrows. That bad eh?

“I think of you

“I think of you at night

“When the ceiling is blue

“And my bed is cold”

Dan looked at her and his eyes quested for approval and Michele nodded. He cleared his throat and his cheeks reddened.

“I don’t know what I can do for you

“And the blue that I see at night

“Bruises me still

“And I’m cold because you shouldn’t be

“But you are

“And when I look into your eyes

“Past the blue

“I see the things I can’t do for you

“And I want to do more

“But I can’t love you

“And I don’t know if that’s what you need

“To get past the blue that dots your skin

“So I lay at night

“And I see blue”

Danny put the paper down and he looked away, his chin tight. Michele smiled. “Well Daniel that is good, it really is but I don’t understand it yes? Explain it to me.”

“What don’t you understand?” Dan asked dully. “It seems pretty obvious.”

Michele bristled, she could sense a man itching for a fight readily enough and the fact that he had brought that in here annoyed her to no end. “Don’t you call me stupid, boy,” she snapped.

Dan looked at her with sparkling, brimming eyes. “What don’t you get?”

“Well the color association for starters,” Michele snipped. “Cecile’s eyes are green, not a speck of blue in them and the melancholy tone I thought you said Cecile had everything…”

“It’s for you OKAY!” Dan roared standing up and clenching his fists. “It’s for you! I tried to do what you asked and write something for Cecile but God Dammit all I could think about was you, all I could see was you and I lied it’s not her driving me crazy it’s YOU! It’s always YOU! You’re in my brain I don’t know….”

Michele leaned forward and roughly pressed her hand against his lips to silence him. “Patrick is upstairs,” she hissed. “Don’t make a scene!” I have him! She thought with excitement as if she had just found a forgotten birthday present. I finally have him!

Dan’s hands went to her cheeks, soft palms, warm and Michele took her hand away from him and rested one just lightly on his chest. “I think about you all the time,” Dan whispered and a tear fell down his cheek. “I worry about you all the time, I worry about how unfulfilled your life is and what you put up with and how your husband sometimes talks about you turns my blood cold. And I want to do something, anything, everything!”

“Shh,” Michele whispered blinking rapidly and feeling tears warm her eyes, just the right touch, not too much. “You needn’t worry for me silly, yes?”

“But I do!” Dan moaned, more tears now, Michele wanted to taste them. “I do and sometimes I look at everything all the happiness Cecile is going to have and I feel guilty, and angry that… why the hell is she so special that you get gypped of the same happy life? What did you ever do to deserve this? I want you to be happy!”

Enough words boy make the move! Michele’s mind roared. I don’t need love from you just a little stamina! She pressed her fingers over his lips, those soft lips, again to silence him. Perhaps if he couldn’t speak he’d make the move because God knows now, if he thought her so tormented or saintly she could spoil everything with just a simple forward move on her account. Still his hands did not wander and he made no move to kiss her. Damn this gallant boy!

“You make me happy,” Michele whispered in a strangled, tormented whisper and she let a few tears fall to add to her embarrassed, surprised, saintly accosted housewife image. “That’s all you need to do is talk with me, and I am happy.”

“Is it possible then?” Dan asked in an awestruck voice. “Is it true? She wasn’t lying?”

Michele felt stumbled. “Who said what?” She asked almost forgetting to sound distressed.

“You poor woman,” Dan murmured and Michele felt intensely annoyed now feeling left out of crucial information. “And here I keep coming and tormenting you more, I’m such an asshole!”

“Daniel I don’t…”

“No, no you don’t have to say it,” Dan said quickly. “I understand but, shit I can’t just leave you like this it’s all my fault. Christ it’s my fault.”

Don’t you dare do the right thing and fucking leave me here! Michele’s mind snarled, Not when I’m as worked up as this!

“Mimi God help me,” Danny murmured, “But I…”

The front door opened and Gigi shot snarling and barking to it and Michele wanted to slam her fist on the table and yell shit until she died. She stood up quickly and she heard Patrick’s voice greeting someone as he answered the door and Danny’s face blanched. Michele’s throat tightened and she swallowed.